The Striding Place

by Gertrude Atherton

The Striding Place is a horror short story written by Gertrude Atherton and first published in 1896. Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton (October 30, 1857 - June 14, 1948) was a prominent and prolific American author, many of whose novels are based in her home state, California. Her best-seller Black Oxen (1923) was made into a silent movie of the same name. In addition to novels, she wrote short stories, essays, and articles for magazines and newspapers on such issues as feminism, politics, and war. She was strong-willed, independent-minded, and sometimes controversial. Atherton's first publication was "The Randolphs of Redwood: A Romance," serialized in The Argonaut in March 1882 under the pseudonym Asmodeus. When she revealed to her family that she was the author, it caused her to be ostracized. In 1888, she left for New York, leaving Muriel with her grandmother. She traveled to London, and eventually returned to California. Atherton's first novel, What Dreams May Come, was published in 1888 under the pseudonym Frank Lin. In 1889, she went to Paris at the invitation of her sister-in-law Alejandra Rathbone (married to Major Jared Lawrence Rathbone). That year, she heard from British publisher G. Routledge and Sons that they would publish her first two books. William Sharp wrote in The Spectator praising her fiction and would later invite Atherton to stay with him and his wife, Elizabeth, in South Hampstead. In London, she had the opportunity through Jane Wilde to meet Oscar Wilde, her son. She recalled in her memoir Adventures of a Novelist (1932) that she made an excuse to avoid the meeting because she thought he was physically repulsive. In an 1899 article for London's Bookman, Atherton wrote of Wilde's style and associated it with "the decadence, the loss of virility that must follow over-civilization."

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Fiction, Gothic, Classics, American

24 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1896

About the author

Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton (October 30, 1857 – June 14, 1948) was a prominent and prolific American author. Many of her novels are set in her home state of California. Her bestseller Black Oxen (1923) was made into a silent movie of the same name. In addition to novels, she wrote short stories, essays, and articles for magazines and newspapers on such issues as feminism, politics, and war. She was strong-willed, independent-minded, and sometimes controversial.

She wrote using the pen names Asmodeus and Frank Lin, a play on her middle name.

Reviews

[October · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the atmosphere and the build-up, the little details of the characters' backgrounds and relationship, and the particular style of queer subtext that tends to pop up in literature from this time period. What I liked most, though, is that this story centers around the Strid. I find the real-life Strid absolutely fascinating and terrifying, and knowing a bit of background on it definitely ups the fear factor of this story for me. It's a deeply unsettling stretch of water, and it works incredibly well at the center of a spooky story. That said, I did find the ending abrupt and kind of unsatisfying, more of a "what?" than anything. I get what it was going for, but to me the final sentence sort of bashed my suspension of disbelief in the kneecaps on the way out. It didn't quite feel like it went with the rest of what the author had built.

This is just wild speculation, but I remember reading something about this story being seen as "too gruesome" for a journal to publish, and I wonder if the ending might have been toned down at some point before it was eventually published? Nothing seems especially gruesome about the story to me, although it could just be the difference between a 2020s and an 1890s perspective. Either way, the ending wasn't my fave, but the story is otherwise pretty enjoyable.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

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“I cherish the theory that the soul sometimes lingers in the body after death. During madness, of course, it is an impotent prisoner, albeit a conscious one. Fancy its agony, and its horror!"

Interesting ending! Not sure I'd call it one of the most terrifying horror stories though. Maybe in the 1890's but not today.

[Lane Embrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to disagree with virtually all of the reviews. The ending may have been a tad bit abrupt, but did send a horrifying thrill up my spine. Generally speaking (but especially in a story this short and trim) exposition is never for nothing. When Giffords was talking about his spirit residing in his body even in the event that it is terribly damaged, that is a clue. His friend finds him in the water after he has been missing for two days, his body being tossed around. Two days- he is most assuredly dead (nevermind that he has no face). Yet, he manages to grip onto a branch his friends extends to save his life. Is his corpse still the domicile of his soul, even in it's ravaged condition? Is he going to hang around until he's buried like he said, or even beyond?

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This work is regularly cited as a 'great' 'gothic' horror. Perhaps in 1896, when the story had been written, it might have been fear-inducing. Now it is a drag, with lots of momentum building up towards nothing.
Only reason for giving one extra star: the unabashed homoerotic tone in the thoughts of our protagonist, which is truly refreshing amongst all the mucky writing.
Your call.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooh, oh, ack! This awful, horrifying, dreadful, wonderful ghost story is sure to delight and torment in equal measure. It's horrifying, but I couldn't stop reading. I wanted to look away but could not. That's part of the story's power: it gripped me and wouldn't let go. I had to keep reading to the end, even though I knew that it would be gruesome, that there was no avoiding the tale's inexorable conclusion. I read it more than a fortnight ago, but I still remember it vividly, and even now, I can feel my skin crawl. Not gory—not at all—but chilling and unsettling. Perfect for horror readers.

[John Yelverton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This horror story built itself up to be great, and then left much to be desired, culminating in an abrupt and unsatisfying ending.

[Mayda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two men talk about life and death, especially about the loneliness of death and what happens to the soul. It appears that one of the friends has perished in a bog known as The Strid. Weigall cannot believe it, goes to the Strid, and sees a hand raised above the bog. The hand grasps the stick that Weigall has extended, but when Weigall pulls him, well, that is the crux of the story. Brief and to the point, this well-written ghost story lacks nothing, except perhaps an explanation as to how it could possibly have happened.

[Rick West · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story starts out pretty straight forward. We are introduced to a man whos best friend has disappeared a few days before. One night he goes out for a walk and you may have guessed it something strange happens. Be for warned, at the end you may be asking - what happened!

[Viviane M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is the ending abrupt? Yes. Did it send chills up my spine? Also yes.
The narrator reminisces the entire story on his time with Wyatt Gifford. He thinks about the time the two spent together, about their conversations that excited the narrator, and about how his disappearance was likely a prank. He thinks back on the funeral that they both attended for a mutual friend who went mad, his face in the days leading up to his death had been "senile" and "debaucherous" while that same friend looked peaceful and intelligent in death.
When the narrator attempts to save the person from the river, recognizing the hands, he starts to realize just how much Wyatt Gifford meant to him, "he would have flouted in these moments
the thought that he had ever loved any woman as he loved Wyatt Gifford"
This revelation comes after the narrator expresses boredom and annoyance with the women present at the beginning of the story. The narrator struggles to get the body out of the water and necessitate his friend, but there is no face.
Is this a reveal that there was something paranormal going on? Not likely, there was no buildup for something like that.
Is the narrator going mad and imagining that there is no face because he can not grapple with the death of his friend? This has a bit more evidence behind it, but this conclusion also feels unsatisfying.
Is the facelessness of the body metaphorical? Yes, I think so. The narrator spends the whole story reminiscing on how full of life and vigor his friend was, and how different a body can look without a soul. Perhaps the facelessness of the person he pulls out of the river doesn't look like his friend, and it's as simple as that.
Or maybe the face was just scraped off from the struggle, who knows? Certainly not me. I liked the book though.

[Cait McCracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as a part of a ‘weird woods’ short horror story collection. I think it’s a bit of a stretch to call it horror. The last few sentences have that uneasy element but I’d say it’s more of a reflection of a conversation the main character had with his missing friend- about the soul inhabiting the body even after death. Seems that although the friend was dead, his soul was able to live on long enough to come to the surface and not remain lost in the Strid forever. There are several hints in the story that the (male) narrator had romantic feelings for his lost friend, so I saw it as his friend’s soul remaining in tact long enough to be found and bring closure.

[Neil Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very short story but it has a great atmosphere and storyline that really pulls you in...and then the end comes and it's so jarring you are snapped from your immersion and left wondering if you missed something.

I went and researched the Strid, I reread the story and no..it just ends without the preamble, as if you were supposed to have inferred it from the context of the story.

Perhaps a sentence short of greatness? Or was the end changed overtime? Either way read this because of the atmosphere but brace for the disappointing reveal.

[Richard Dominguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this story as part of the anthology Weird Horror Short Stories Look for my review will in that overall read.

[Madame Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You believe in the soul as an independent entity, then--that it and the vital principle are not one and the same?

"Absolutely. The body and soul are twins, life comrades--sometimes friends, sometimes enemies, but always loyal in the last instance."

Atmospheric however, the ending was a let down.

[Red Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

A genuinely bizarre story. Nicely and unashamedly homoerotic, but I’ve now read through several times and the conclusion, while creepy, rather lacks sense. It’s certainly weird, but rather out of left field and lacking that nice solid “thunk” where the final reveal sets the trail of horror into full narrative in the more satisfying supernatural takes.

[Scott Doherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of a man who is searching for his best friend, who's gone missing. The search takes him to a dangerous waterfall in the forest called The Strid, from which many have fallen and drowned. There he discovers something most terrifying and surreal. a chilling ghost story

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining horror listening
This was in Box set Classic tales of Horror - 500+
It is about two friends in Great Britain and one goes missing. The other goes searching and finds a body it a stream. Is it his friend? Enjoy reading 2022

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gertrude Atherton based the story on the real history of the human fatalities at the Strid, a place that continues to take lives.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story. Fab development and a twist. Read it. You won't be sorry. 3 Stars

[Art the Turtle of Amazing Girth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too convoluted for me

It had moments, like in the description of the woods and water, but the story, shrug, not for me

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

The build up is good, and the atmosphere fine. Not much of an ending. But it's short. Probably worth the 10-15 minutes it takes to read if you're just sitting around anyways.

[Forked Radish · Rating 3 out of 5]

In ancient times (1896) people was so dumb they thought this was scary.

[Annabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mooi maar beetje te snel voorbij

[Ed Jefferson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"[...] The body and soul are twins, life comrades — sometimes friends, sometimes enemies, but always loyal in the last instance."

[Rissa (rissasreading) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the queer subtext, the backstory to the characters and the build up but I don't think the ending lived up to it

[Rhys Causon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow start with a creepy build up to an abrupt ending.

[Maggie Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit graphic like

[superawesomekt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a story for lazy readers.

[Zakyra Chanelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

GIRL DA NILE IS A RIVER….

Unsatisfactory plot, but Weigall is so insanely gay for Wyatt and I love that for him. 3 stars for that.